Drinking Decaf, and I Didn’t Know It

Finding Courage through the Unexpected

If someone would have told me to cut back on caffeine, I would have cringed at the thought of doing such a ridiculous thing! It is tough to break out of a comfortable routine that brings me joy.  And, when busy weeks arise the thought of “Changing it up”, is scary.

Thursday night while hosting a dinner party I realized I had been drinking decaf all week.  The funny thing is that I had knowingly bought it, and had used it for four days in a row mindlessly and had not once picked up on the coffee being decaffeinated.  It wasn’t until my husband asked me why we had bought decaf coffee this week that I stood there is shock.  Ahhhh!  What is the chance?   I realized a few things.

1. This was a busy and stressful week.  I was exhausted but that was not necessarily related to not having enough caffeine.  The yearbook was due, a student council meeting was scheduled in the middle of the week, my sister-in-law and her son was coming in Rhode Island, and  I had a 50 mile running week scheduled.
2. I ran 3 pretty good workouts during the week after “coffee”, and one not so great one.  I did not hit a PR, but all of my times were pretty reasonable.
3. After I had “coffee” at home, I would indulge in a cup at work.  So ultimately, I was cutting my caffeine in half.  The funny thing is, if I had been asked to reduce my caffeine I would have felt very stressed and frustrated, and wondered if I could do it.
4. Apparently the placebo effect really does work. I think it is okay to believe that something can make you better, or have a good luck charm.
5. You can look at something and not really see it.  I purchased the decaf coffee with a green lid, and placed it in my refrigerator, and then took it out and used it every day for almost a week.  When I think about how many times I handled the can of coffee, it is amazing that I saw “regular” coffee in place of the words decaf. Consumer hypnosis feels like a very real thing.
6. You can do more than you think.  Often times I catch myself thinking that I cannot do something.  However, when placed in the situation, I perform better than I ever thought I would.  Sometimes thinking about a situation is the toughest part.  It is easier, to just start, and then process what you are going through later.
7. Life Lessons are available every day.  It  is easy to go through the motions, and see things happen, and then not think much of it.  But, there are life lessons all over the place.  When I pause to reflect on experiences, I realize how much richer my life is having gone through something.